How to Get Off Your Butt and Lose That Muffin Top, Part 1

I am going to start the 3-part series with information on exercise programming. Part 2 will be posture and part 3 will be the main exercises you need to do to stay strong and healthy.

Alot of people ask me how often they should be exercising. There are guidelines offered by organizations such as the Center for Disease Control, American College of Sports Medicine, and American Council on Exercise. They differ slightly, but the basic agreement is that people should be getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-vigorous exercise most days of the week.

That either leaves alot of ambiguity--or opportunity--depending on how you look at it. Let's put this in practical terms as to how to get started...

Lesson #1: Set relevant goals
First, I tell people that, if they are not doing any exercise, they should start out slowly. No one goes from 0 to 5 days of exercising a week and maintains it long-term. People always want to start out with a bang and set the first goals high, but when I follow up a week later, they've only accomplished about 25% of the goals. Before they can get to 100%, they need to adapt their behavior and lifestyle. They need to figure things out, such as who will babysit or what to do if they can't walk because it's hot or raining, etc.

Lesson #2: Make it easy to exercise
Don't design a program that requires alot of special planning. For instance, if you plan to go to a 6 PM exercise class three times a week but know that half the time you work past 6, it's not going to work. However, you could have a backup plan to use the treadmill or do a DVD if you don't make it.

Also, don't underestimate the effectiveness of a brisk walk. Not a stroll, or saunter, but a fitness walk with arms pumping and legs charging up hills.

Lesson #3: Don't sweat the details...too much
People get really confused as to how many days they should do certain exercises, like Pilates, strength training, cardio. There are a couple of questions I ask in return first:

1. "What are your goals?" If the goal is to lose 30 pounds, the client needs to burn as many calories as possible and should get his/her heart rate up as often as possible. This could equate to 5 days of cardio with 2 days of strength mixed in, or 5 days of circuit training (back-back strength training exercises without rest). If the goal is to maintain fitness, then less cardio is required and a mixture of formats could be used.

2. "What do you like to do?" If someone positively hates cardio, they're not going to do it 5 days a week. If you wake up and think it's my cardio day, but I'm dying to try the Body Pump class, do the class! You have to enjoy it to keep your motivation high.

There's no hard and fast rule as to what you should do. Again, it's based on your goals and what you enjoy. My exercise routine changes every week. For example, here's this week:
Monday: strength training, chest and arms
Tuesday: vigorous intensity yard work (tilling and shovelling) and leading a strength/core class
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: yard work and strength/core class
Friday: strength training for legs

Lesson #4: Strive for more physical activity in general

As I mentioned above, fitness walks can be a great way to burn extra calories--just step outside your door and you have a gym! In addition to the formal exercise routine above, I also walk my dog three times a day for 30 minutes.  

Otherwise, use every opportunity to be more active: take the stairs more, walk to the store, play and run with your kids, rediscover what you used to enjoy (dancing, biking, skating, hiking, kayaking, swimming).